1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for dyeing textiles in a non-uniform fashion, and to the so-obtained dyed textiles.
The term "textiles" as used in the present disclosure and in the appended claims refers to yarns or threads in the form of skeins or wound on a planar structure, plain or textured fabrics, cloths, e.g., cotton cloth generally known as "denim," and ready-to-wear apparel such as trousers, jeans, jackets, sports jackets, shirts, blouses, vests, skirts, shorts, swimsuits, etc.
It is known that dyeing of textiles may be carried out according to a number of different processes, the particular process selected generally being related to the material to be dyed.
Generally, the dyeing process involves charging a textile material to a dyeing bath, ordinarily comprising water and a dyestuff or dyestuff mixture in either dissolved or dispersed form, optionally together with dyeing auxiliaries. The bath is heated to a determined temperature for the purpose of making the dyestuff penetrate the textile and become fixed to it. The dyed product is then repeatedly washed with water to remove any excess absorbed dyestuff, and it is finally dried. If desired, the dyeing process may be followed by a chemical fastening treatment to fasten the deposited dyestuff.
In turn, the exhausted dyeing bath generally will undergo a process to recover or remove the dyestuff(s).
Although the foregoing dyeing process is the most commonly used, it suffers from several drawbacks. First of all, it requires a large amount of water, generally hot water. An average dyeing cycle requires from five to more than 100 liters of water per kg of dyed product, the water typically being heated to a temperature of approximately 80.degree. to 130.degree. C. Furthermore, the dyeing operation is lengthy and laborious.
These drawbacks are greatly increased when a non-uniformly dyed product is desired. In this case, the dyeing operation may involve several different dyeing cycles, each cycle with a different dyestuff, and during each cycle protecting certain areas (reserves) which are not to be dyed by that specific dyestuff.
Printing of fabrics is another technique for producing particular patterns. This process requires the use of structured blocks to obtain a given pattern. Furthermore, while printing can be carried out relatively easily on fabrics, difficulties arise when ready-to-wear apparel or a flat portion of the ready-to-wear apparel is to be printed.
The dyeing processes known in the art make it possible to obtain uniform dyeings or well-defined or overlapping patterns, but do not permit the obtaining of non-uniform, discontinuous, or random, maculated dyeings.